1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicles, and more specifically, to a vehicle for use as a tow vehicle or a towed vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of conventional techniques in this category is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,746, for example. U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,746 discloses a tow vehicle (tow tractor), which includes a body having a front portion, a rear portion and an intermediate portion. The intermediate portion includes an engine cover placed at a substantially central location, extending in a longitudinal direction and extending higher than the fore and the rear portions, and an operation deck provided on a side of the engine cover.
The tow vehicle does not have an arrangement for partitioning the operation deck from cargo areas thereby posing a risk that the cargo will shift into the operation deck.
Also, the tow vehicle has a bulge in the intermediate portion of the body, so that the body's upper surface is divided into left and right areas by the intermediate portion, and it is therefore not possible to provide a wide flat bed on the body's upper surface. Thus, the tow vehicle cannot haul a wide object in a stable manner. Further, the tow vehicle has a steering wheel which is provided at a front area of the operation deck and projects above the upper surfaces of the fore and the rear portions of the body. Therefore, the steering wheel will be an obstacle when hauling a wide and/or a long object. The body cannot satisfactorily function as a cargo bed especially when the tow vehicle is used as a towed vehicle.